Manchester City’s sparkling David Silva to continue golden form

As the Premier League title race enters a crucial stage, the big players are starting to make even bigger contributions for their teams.

The perceived wisdom is that the battle at the top is now going to be between Liverpool, Manchester City and Chelsea – despite what Jose Mourinho thinks – and all three clubs have players capable of earning them crucial points.

Take City, who go into Saturday’s game at home to Southampton off the back of picking up four points from back-to-back away games at Manchester United and Arsenal.

Key to earning those points was the Spanish international David Silva (£9.4m), who shone in the 3-0 win at Old Trafford and then gave his side the lead at the Emirates Stadium last Saturday with a close range finish.

Although clearly one of the most gifted players in the Premier League, Silva has often been overlooked by many from a Fantasy football point of view due to his comparative lack of goals when stacked up against other attacking midfielders. He’s currently in just 7.9% of teams.

His strike at Arsenal was his sixth of the season though, and with Manuel Pellegrini opting to play the World Cup winner behind front man Edin Dzeko (£6.9m) in recent weeks, Silva has found himself getting into attacking positions more and more.

At the time of writing it isn’t clear whether Sergio Aguero (£12.0m) will be fit to face Southampton at the Etihad Stadium this weekend, but even if he isn’t then City shouldn’t worry and will probably field the same team they started with in their last two games.

Silva has been a key part of those selections, and with City players likely to be crucial to your team for the rest of the season given that they face two double Gameweeks (the first of which comes next week) then he could be seen as a more than useful addition.

Samir Nasri (£8.1m) and of course Yaya Toure (£10.4m) will of course be crucial too, as City look to utilise their midfield power in their bid for glory.

Elsewhere, City’s title challengers Liverpool head into the weekend on top of the table and will be looking to stay there when they go to West Ham on Sunday.

Everyone knows who the main men for the Reds are, but Jordan Henderson (£6.5m) continues to impress and grabbed a goal against Tottenham, whilst Glen Johnson (£5.7m) has picked up two assists in his last three games and registered 11 points in that 4-0 win over Spurs.

Chelsea’s Andre Schurrle (£6.9m) should start at home to Stoke, against whom he scored twice earlier in the season, whilst arguably the match of the weekend sees fifth-placed Everton host an Arsenal side they’ve got their eye on overtaking and reaching the Champions League ahead of.

A tight clash is expected, but Gerard Deulofeu (£5.4m) has now started four of Everton’s last five games in the league, and after scoring in the 1-1 draw with Arsenal in December he’ll be determined to give home fans something else to shout about before he returns to Barcelona in the summer.

One player who could also be on the move at the end of the season is Aston Villa’s Christian Benteke (£8.7m), and after he had a day to forget at Manchester United he could take out his frustrations on a Fulham side who now seem destined for the drop.

Juan Mata (£9.2m) managed his first goal for Manchester United in that 4-1 win over Villa last weekend, and he’ll be worth keeping an eye on as the Red Devils go to a Newcastle side who seem to have mentally switched off for the season already, whilst although they had that day to forget at Anfield last weekend, Tottenham should get a result at home to Sunderland on Monday when Nacer Chadli (£6.8m) may continue in his advanced midfield role.

The Belgian international would be a huge gamble for your team, with Christian Eriksen (£6.5m) perhaps a safer and cheaper option.